Updated 7pm with MHRA reaction

Two young men turn to a bar freezer tucked away in the corner of the room, just out of sight of the CCTV camera, on which they carved two lines of cocaine in front of a queue of people waiting to enter the bathroom.

Rolling up a banknote, each takes a turn inhaling a line before stepping away – only after ensuring not a single trace of the powder remains.

“Ħa jiġbdu u ħa jinqerdu (They’ll snort and lose themselves),” someone mutters after they leave.

During a trip to Valletta, it was a common sight to see groups of men entering and exiting the bathroom together, and interacting with people who were openly discussing taking cocaine.

In another bar, one man who got a bit chatty with everyone, started banging on the bathroom door telling people to hurry up and jokingly saying that everyone is “doing koko”.

“Kullħadd qed jiġbed (Everyone is taking),” he said.

As his groups of friends openly chatted about their collective intentions, the man turned towards his friend, handed him what seemed to be a small bag with cocaine and playfully argued over whose turn it was.

Valletta is increasingly becoming a playground for drugs, with bar patrons lining up outside bathrooms indulging in cocaine, a Times of Malta investigation has shown.

The sight of wide-eyed individuals buzzing with energy and confidence was prevalent, especially in a number of bars along Strait Street. People also tended to frequently sniff and touch their nose, behaviour normally associated with cocaine use.

Traces of white powder was spotted in a number of bathrooms, either on the toilet flushing or on a shelf.

“Valletta is a coke den,” a drug dealer told Times of Malta, on condition of anonymity.

He added that cocaine was the bestselling drug, with demand skyrocketing over the past couple of years.

“The demand never dwindles throughout the week. Monday and Saturday are the same. From the man in the street to high-flyers, they’re all doing drugs. It’s just that the rich will afford to buy more,” the dealer said, highlighting how what was once a drug reserved for the wealthy is now prevalent across all socio-economic groups.

The price of cocaine varies between €80 to €100 per gram depending on the quality, the dealer added.

Men entering and exiting the bathrooms together has become common.

Most dealers can be found on the messaging application Telegram where dealers can open secret chats to talk to people. Some dealers even open channels where they share a menu of drugs to their customers.

Despite its popularity and lucrative business, the dealer admits cocaine use is destructive.

“Everyone wants it because they feel they need it to socialise, when you don’t actually need it,” they added.

‘Drastic’ increase in purity

Numerous studies show that cocaine has been on the rise for a number of years now.

A European report last year revealed that cocaine use has risen in recent years and become widespread across Malta. Valletta residents have also reported seeing people snort cocaine in the streets.

A report by the Forensic Analysis Laboratory (FAL) also raised serious concerns about the number of deceased people that have cocaine in their system and about the “drastic” increase of purity.

Forensic expert Godwin Sammut warned about the high purity of cocaine and synthetic drugs found in cocaine, which together, can create quite a fatal drug.

NGO Caritas Malta told Times of Malta that the number of clients facing cocaine problems increased every year. Whereas before, their main clients used to have a problem with heroin, now the majority have a problem with cocaine.

A National Report on drugs in Malta found that the number of cocaine-related emergencies at Mater Dei Hospital increased every year between 2017 and 2022. There was a notable spike from the 273 emergencies in 2021 and the 438 emergencies in 2022. More recent data is not available yet.

It is hard to state how many people died from using cocaine; however, Caritas added that the number of drug-related deaths is actually a lot higher than what is reported, as a lot of people usually die from cardiac arrest or a heart attack.

Two men hunched over a shelf, sniffing

Meanwhile, in a lit Strait Street, a tall, middle-aged man with a beard hurried down the stairs, pushing past two patrons. “Sorry, my friends are in there,” he muttered as he forced his way forward.

Reaching a locked door, he knocked impatiently, then pounded harder, his frustration growing. Moments later, the door creaked open, revealing two men hunched over a small shelf on the wall.

He slipped inside, leaving the door ajar just enough for those outside to glimpse what followed. Through the narrow gap, he could be seen bending over the shelf and inhaling a substance.

As the men stumbled out moments later, one burst into laughter, nodding toward the bathroom. “Sorry, guys, the toilet’s clogged!” he joked.

A bit later, two young men walked out of the cubicle, one of them high-fived an older man and, in a not-so-subtle manner, passed him a small plastic bag with cocaine they just got done using.

Outdoors, you could hear the faint sound of sniffing.

For the most part, people would be joking around when queuing up to take another hit, but at times it was unsightly when people became impatient and aggressive.

In one bar, with a fairly older crowd, people taking cocaine would be visibly agitated waiting to enter the cubicle. A man was so desperate he skipped the queue without apologising, frequently banging on the door.

Once the toilet freed up, he rushed in, soon after storming out shouting: “Għall-erwieħ ħabib tiegħi (Finally my friend)!” Shortly after, another man walked out of the bathroom shouting the same thing.

In another bar – where cocaine use seemed a bit excessive – one man was becoming increasingly more agitated in the queue for the bathrooms. He even proposed “doing a line on the sink”, which was outside the cubicles.

As he reached the front of the line, he slipped a hand into his pocket and retrieved a small plastic bag, its contents resembling cocaine.

In a different bar, a wide-eyed man was telling people in the queue for the bathrooms not to take long.

He prepared himself by moving his credit card from his back pocket to his front one. It is common for people taking cocaine to use their credit card, or anything similar, to draw up lines of cocaine.

Cocaine use is not exclusive to Valletta, though. Bar owners outside the capital say cocaine use became widespread around the pandemic, “as people had nothing better to do”.

“People do not even wait to go to the bathroom anymore. They do it in front of everyone,” one barman said.

He said the cleaner was used to finding empty small plastic bags and traces of white powder in the bathrooms after a night of debauchery.

Another bar owner added that he noticed familiar faces that come and go to their parties, who are clearly there to sell drugs: “They don’t show up to party but to work.”

One source recalled how the bouncers of the event they were hosting also began selling cocaine at the bar.

Outside of bars, sources within the entertainment industry said cocaine use is widespread at weddings as well.

“A queue for the men’s bathroom is very unusual. This never used to happen before. Guys coming in and out in twos, rubbing their noses. It’s pretty obvious,” one source said.

MHRA calls for urgent action

In a statement late on Monday, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association called for an urgent discussion on the issue of drug abuse.

"It is evident that drug abuse has become a widespread problem across the country, not just in Valletta," the association said in a statement. 

"This is a national concern that requires a zero-tolerance approach, as drug abuse not only harms individuals and their families but also undermines the economy. Criminal activity linked to drug trafficking creates unfair market conditions, distorting legitimate business operations and damaging the integrity of the hospitality and tourism sectors."

It urged authorities to continuously update their strategies, with a focus on enforcement, deterrence and ensuring that the right resources are in place.

It objected to the portrayal of Valletta as a “coke den”, insisting the core issue was not Valletta itself but the growing presence of drugs at various social gatherings across Malta, including private events. 

MHRA called on all political parties to form a common front in the fight against drug abuse.

"This is not a partisan issue but a national one that requires a united stance. Strengthening enforcement, increasing public awareness, and ensuring that drug-related criminal activity is tackled head-on should be a shared priority across the political spectrum. Malta cannot afford to let this issue escalate any further."